­BACKGROUND

The integration of transportation planning and land use is critical to ensuring sustainable corridor functionality and surrounding growth. Corridor management can provide that integration and inform state departments of transportation (DOTs) and regional, and local decision-making.  It can be difficult, however, to assess and quantify the impacts of corridor management in a manner that state, regional, and local officials find compelling.

Many states and regions have designated corridors of significance, but long-term planning for coordinated management of these corridors is lacking.  The absence of wide-spread coordinated planning might relate to the difficulty of achieving collaboration among numerous affected agencies and institutions coupled with limited availability of tools necessary to help reach consensus on complex issues.  Research is needed to fill this critical gap—moving beyond current practices by identifying methods to quantify impacts associated with corridor management to support improved, proactive, coordinated planning and decision-making.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this research is (1) to produce a framework for measuring the impacts of corridor management, demonstrating applicable strategies and techniques; and (2) to develop guidelines for how to implement that framework. This framework should focus on multi-jurisdictional corridor-wide transportation and land-use planning that affects community and economic vitality. It should reflect a desire to maximize public value by implementing programs for effective infrastructure improvements and investments at a corridor level. In addition, it should provide guidance for state DOTs, regional, and local transportation and land-use planning agencies, working together with both public and private stakeholders, to coordinate development planning and infrastructure investment in multi-modal passenger and freight transportation networks. The framework should include, at a minimum, the following:

1.    A working definition of what a corridor is, what is meant by corridor management, and a description of how that definition has evolved;

2.    A delineation of the primary components of a corridor management program and how those components address measuring public value and sustainability;

3.    A description and review of current experience, including existing tools and techniques used to measure impacts and implement a corridor management program in support of various planning and management objectives;

4.    A matrix or other organizing technique that can be used to classify the variety of corridors as a basis for the framework; and

5.   Recommendations for models and/or strategic approaches to measure impacts (quantitatively and qualitatively) and integrate current practices with potential changes that can occur, taking into account risk and uncertainty in long-term planning and forecasting methods.

The framework and guidelines are intended to supplement FHWA’s Integrated Corridor Management (ICM) program which is directed toward transportation system operations and performance on corridors using technology and intelligent transportation systems (ITS).  In contrast, this research will focus on transportation system corridor management as a proactive transportation and land-use planning activity with an emphasis on maximizing public value while implementing effective infrastructure investment strategies.